May2000 Volume 81 Number 5 "serving the protectors"
Bowls
By Peter Baehnk

Annual Carnival

Those who missed this year’s Australian Police Bowling Association carnival missed a bowling feast.

A crowd gathered for the official opening at the Holdfast Bay Bowling Club on the morning of April 2.

The teams - from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia - marched on with the host team to the accompaniment of the SAPOL band. President Nick Zuvich’s wife, Maureen, rolled the first jack, while Assistant Commissioner Brown rolled the first bowl.

With the first-round battle between Noel Blake of Victoria and Trevor Gregory of South Australia in the singles championship, spectators were given a taste of what was to come. Gregory - the 1998 singles plate winner in Moama - had lost to Blake (the eventual winner of the plate) in Perth last year. On this occasion, Gregory was down 17/4 after 15 ends and took the lead only once on the 23rd end (19/18), before winning on the 28th end with four shots and a score line of 25/22.

Gregory then defeated another local player, Lindsay Yeo, to set up a semi-final match with Trevor Melotte of Victoria. Gregory was down early and continued that way for several ends, gradually decreasing the difference in their respective scores. The pair reached the 32nd end when the score line was 23/22 in Melotte’s favour. Gregory was “holding game” on three shots when Melotte drove the jack into the ditch to score two shots and win the game.

Melotte then played Victorian, Barry Lane, in a thrilling final. The result, which could have gone either way, favoured Melotte who won 25/21.

Weather conditions for the first two days were fine with a slight breeze. This situation changed on the third day, however, when gusty winds and rain started to interfere with play. Play was eventually abandoned late that afternoon but restarted an hour early the following day. Gusts up to 87 km/h were recorded at the Adelaide Airport, which resulted in slight damage at the club. The greens, however, were not affected. Some bowlers actually complained about green speeds of 18 and 19 seconds.

The “sides” competition (decided by games won) appeared to be a runaway win by Victoria. But until New South Wales, normally a strong side, met Victoria, that competition wasn’t decided. Victoria had won all its games up to that point and South Australia looked a possible winner if Victoria was to lose. This was not to be - on four wins Victoria beat South Australia (three) into second place.

The total shots for and against were:

Vic	472/349 (4 wins).
SA	398/363 (3).
NSW	394/357 (1).
WA	362/434 (1).
Qld	345/452 (1).

The New South Wales team was by far the most successful overall, and won:

• The singles plate.
• Pairs.
• The pairs plate championship.
• Fours championship.

Victoria won the singles championship while Western Australia won the triples championship. And while South Australia won the fours plate, Queensland left empty-handed.

PASAweb   Index & Search   Top of Page   Comments   Email to Editor

The Police Journal Online is an official publication of the Police Association of South Australia and is published monthly. Editors of kindred publications can seek permission from the Editor to re-publish any Police Journal Online article. Copyright 1999  The Police Association of South Australia sustance